1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a peripheral device control system that includes an information processing apparatus and a peripheral device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a peripheral device control system having a peripheral device connected to an information processing apparatus has been effectively utilized in various forms at home or in office through the use of a variety of interfaces such as a universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet (registered trademark) and a wireless local area network (LAN). Examples of peripheral devices are a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile (hereinafter, FAX), a scanner, a digital camera, a digital video camera, and a multifunction peripheral of these devices.
In Windows 7 (registered trademark) by Microsoft Corporation of U.S., a new function for managing a peripheral device connected to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC) has been introduced. It is a Device Stage that has a link function to a Devices and Printers folder serving as a window to display devices connected to the PC and applications and services unique to each peripheral device. The “Device and Stage” is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation of U.S. A screen (FIG. 6A) of the Devices and Printers folder can be displayed from a “start menu” of the Windows. A Device Stage™ screen (FIG. 6B) of each peripheral device can also be opened from the Devices and Printers folder.
The Devices Stage™ can provide a visual screen, enabling a user to easily access functions or services relating to the device. An example of a peripheral device is a printer. For example, a function of displaying a list of documents to be printed or a property screen of the printer can be provided on the Device Stage™ screen. In this example, information of the peripheral device (printer) can be checked by activating a print queue or the property screen of the printer from the Device Stage™ screen.
Along with popularization of the Internet, various on-line services connecting the information processing apparatus or the peripheral device to the Internet to use the Internet have been provided. For example, setting a link of a support site provided by a maker in the Internet on the Device Stage™ screen enables the user to easily access a site relating to the device.
A content of the Device Stage™ is metadata containing only a file of an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format or a resource file of an image or an icon. By customizing the metadata, namely, the XML file, the image file, or the icon file for each peripheral device, display or a function of the Device Stage™ for each peripheral device can be customized.
Control of an operation is described in the XML file. However, the XML file cannot have any function or variable similar to that mounted on software such as a general program because it is a static text file. For some pieces of information supported by an operating system (OS), however, variables usable in the XML file are prepared. For example, a variable for a printer name driver (friendly name) allocated to a printer queue or a viable for a Windows Image ACQUISITION (WIA) driver name allocated to a WIA driver for a scanner function using a WIA is provided from the OS.
Further, processing can be controlled under conditions of a path of registry, a content of information in the registry, and architecture of a processor. The XML file contains information unique to each peripheral device. This information associates each peripheral device with metadata for each peripheral device. The metadata is stored in a web server or a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM). The PC acquires the metadata from such a medium. In an exemplary embodiment, the Device Stage™, the meta data, and the XML file may respectively be referred to as a device management screen, device management information or a device management file, and device management control information or a device management control file.
As an example of a peripheral device, a multifunction printer (hereinafter, MFP) including a printer, a FAX, a scanner, and a storage is described. Conventionally, when the MFP is connected to a PC including the Windows 7, and this PC is connected to the Internet, Device Stage™ metadata (hereinafter referred to as metadata) for the MFP is installed in the PC through the following procedure.
(1-1) The PC acquires information (hardware ID) unique to the MFP.
(1-2) The PC checks whether metadata containing an XML file in which the unique information acquired in (1-1) is written is present in a web server or a CD-ROM for storing metadata (hereinafter, it is presumed that the metadata is present).
(1-3) The metadata for the MFP is downloaded from the web server or the CD-ROM to the PC.
(1-4) The downloaded metadata is installed in the PC. In an environment where the metadata for the MFP has already been installed in the PC through the process of (1-1) to (1-4), when presence of new metadata for the MFP is confirmed in the web server or the CD-ROM, this new metadata is installed in the PC through the following procedure.
(2-1) The PC acquires information (hardware ID) unique to the MFP.
(2-2) The PC checks whether metadata containing an XML file in which the unique information acquired in (2-1) is written is present in the web server or the CD-ROM for storing metadata (hereinafter, it is presumed that the metadata is present).
(2-3) With respect to the metadata installed in the PC and the metadata present in the web server or the CD-ROM, date information written in XML files contained in the metadata is compared with each other (hereinafter, it is presumed that the metadata present in the web server is newer).
(2-4) At the time of activating the Devices and Printers folder, notification indicating installation permission of new metadata is displayed on the screen of the folder (hereinafter, it is presumed that installation has been executed according to a content of the notification). Even when metadata for a plurality of peripheral devices can be installed, no name of a target device is displayed in the notification.
(2-5) The new metadata for the MFP is downloaded from the web server or the CD-ROM to the PC.
(2-6) The downloaded metadata is installed in the PC. A conventional example of managing information unique to each peripheral device by metadata is a technology discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-14026.
When the metadata for the MFP is installed in the PC, if a design of an icon file contained in the metadata is different from that of an icon file which has been used to display the MFP on the screen of the Devices and Printers folder, whether following the procedures of (1-1) to (1-4) or (2-1) to (2-6) the metadata is installed, an icon of the MFP displayed on the Devices and Printers folder screen is changed. Thus, the installation of the metadata for the MFP can be recognized from a displayed content on the screen of the Devices and Printers folder.
However, when a design of an icon file contained in newly installed metadata for the MFP is similar to that of an icon file used thus far for displaying the MFP on the screen of the Devices and Printers folder, the installation of the new metadata cannon be recognized in the following environments.
(1) In a case where the metadata for the MFP is installed in the PC through the procedure (1-1) to (1-4)
In this case, the metadata for the MFP present on an information server apparatus is automatically installed in the PC. Thus, the installation of the metadata for the MFP cannot be recognized.
(2) In a case where a plurality of peripheral devices including the MFP are connected to the PC, and the metadata for the MFP has been installed in the PC
In this case, new metadata for the MFP is installed in the PC through the procedures (2-1) to (2-6). In (2-4), a notification is displayed on the upper part of the screen of the Devices and Printers folder screen. Thus, installation of the new metadata can be recognized. However, since the displayed notification contains no name of the target device, the peripheral devices in which the new metadata has been installed cannot be recognized. When a peripheral device connected to the PC is only the MFP, in (2-4), it can be determined that the notification displayed on the upper part of the screen of the Devices and Printers folder is made for the MFP. Thus, in this case, the installation of the new metadata in the MFP can be recognized.